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| Children of Kootoro Mixed Primary School in Turkana County |
Much has been said about the works of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the northern counties of this country. To the media and many of you who don't come from these regions, NGO hand is akin to an anti-poverty machine whose exploits are purely pro-people and whose initiatives are by all standards pro-empowerment.
The veracity of this standpoint depends on several factors. Those spinning this NGO machine will definitely maintain a narrative that contradicts not the big shots' punch lines atop the "eating chain."
Those depending exclusively on the media for information will be excused for not getting the true picture of NGO operations on the ground. For this group, a northern Kenya devoid of NGOs is as good as dead.
And for the poor mass out there, NGO lies and doublespeak must be eliminated for true empowerment to come their way. According to these folks, NGO double-dealing is more for the interests of a tiny minority whose driving force is wholly founded on thievery and blatant disregard of the core pillars over which humanitarian work is founded.
This calls to mind the now infamous maxim murmured by my people that "the sight of poor folks invites not genuine gesture of support (from those with means) but a long line of people pushed by the need to cash in from the tribulations of the poor."
Let's move straight to core of this matter. While it is evidently clear that Turkana County remains the biggest beneficiary of NGO benevolence, many questions regarding the impact of this "benevolence" remain unanswered.
Despite the endless stream of NGO dollars over there, the people of Turkana County still hold the tag of "the poorest people" in Kenya. The question many are asking is thus: Why aren't we noticing any improvement even with the many "anti-poverty interventions" in the area?
I think I know the reason. But first let's be clear. Fight against poverty is not a NGO-affair alone. This fight demands our collective participation in order to make any tangible inroads. The State, the political class, the people, donors and everybody must join hands to eliminate this monster.
However, it must be made clear that fight against poverty must be premised not on lies but on concrete pro-people initiatives.
To equate the distributionist mentality currently practiced by those claiming to be leading the fight against poverty in Turkana to real empowerment and anti-poverty moves is akin to making reverse steps and expect to progress. This is not the way to lift the poor!
To spoon-feed poor folks, in my view, is worse than leaving them without any support. Turkanas have received food rations for over fifty years yet poverty still reigns supreme. The population is growing hungrier year in year out!
Isn't this enough to push us into self-condemnation for prescribing a defective cure to this population? Or whose concern is it if the people yawn and demand for more in a sea of opportunities?
I hear a task force on Public Benefits Organisations Act - a law governing the NGO sector - is moving around this country to collect views from citizens.
My view is here: Don't waste time talking about capping the amount of money NGOs should receive from donors. The task force should tell the world why despite endless streams of NGO dollars sweeping over Turkana, poverty is still unchallenged.
It adds no value saluting entities that have exposed their weaknesses in fighting poverty, protecting dignity of the poor and being truthful to their founding principles. A clean sweep is needed to remove all the bad apples masquerading as "peoples' helpers".
To remain silent while the poor groan from the blows of a few entities operating under heavy clouds of lies is to support plunder.
To dictate Utopian procedures on the poor is to twist their logic. You cannot pay the poor out of poverty. It is by acknowledging the centrality of the people - the final victors in this "war against poverty" - that we shall see the need to involve them in our pursuit to lift them up.
Selective interventions negate the very essence of collective participation. You cannot claim to be supporting education for all when what you do is to handpick a few “home boys and girls” and hand them expensive Masters scholarships.
An illiterate mass such as the one residing in Turkana County needs more primary and secondary schools and middle-level colleges for real impact to be felt by all.
We must move with speed and confront these NGO lies for Turkana - and the world - to survive. It is our duty to do this.
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